Blesst Chest (members of Jicks, Joggers, 31Knots) announce new album and debut lead single, bring “prog rock” back to the lazyBlesst Chest (members of Jicks, Joggers, 31Knots) announce new album and debut lead single, bring “prog rock

Damn. If it didn’t sound like such an ambitious term to apply to a bunch of (presumably) good-natured, beer-drinking, um, sweat-sweating veterans of Portland, Oregon’s amiably grassrooty rock scene, I’d probably kick off this article by telling you that Blesst Chest is a “SUPER-GROUP” comprised of Jake Morris (drummer for Stephen Malkmus’s illimitable Jicks), Darrell Bourque (via math-pop foursome The Joggers), and Jay Winebrenner (bass slinger in 31knots).

Instead, let’s just forget that shit and cut to the chase: Blesst Chest is “a trio” that, basically, knows how to SHRED some serious PROG JAMS. And, according to their eloquent PR Man Stephen Malkmus (seriously), after two years’ worth of “gigs at godforsaken shitboxes around Portland” and “months and months” of “paying dues” in their rehearsal room, their chops-laden riff-machine of a debut album is finally ready to see the light of day. It’s called Wish We Were There, and it’s due July 29 on XRAY Records.

“There is a Working Man’s Humility to their Prog Rock Leanings,” Malkmus waxes of the record in the promo sheet. “I hear the desperation of the Everyman… but also his ability to Cope through EXXXTREME RIFFAGE!!!” (Later on, he even calls the guys “Dead Foxxy,” just in case you still weren’t sure that it’s Steve Malkmus talking.) But, just in case you don’t believe him, the band is debuting the album’s lead single — a blistering mindfreak that basically takes a 22:00 psych jam and reduces it over high-heat to just under 3:00 entitled “Yes Minus Three” —right here, RIGHT NOW. Check it out down below, feeling free to get as PSYCHED as you wanna… just don’t call it a “supergroup.” That still sounds a little too… hoity-toity.